High-quality learning environment connects students with the world and achieves outstanding talents in the 21st century

St. Margaret's Co-Educational English Secondary and Primary School is committed to building an international campus. The school recruits students from all over the world, forming a multicultural campus, creating a natural and strong English environment, and at the same time establishing a world perspective for students. Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy believes that the English subject is a bridge that solidifies the language foundation for students and helps them develop in an all-round way so that they can integrate with international standards and become global citizens in the future. The principal and the teaching team adhere to the teaching philosophy and cooperate in various aspects such as curriculum planning and contextual atmosphere to allow students to realize their potential and cultivate them to have good communication skills, positive values ​​and international perspective.

Unique teaching advantages to create an international English environment

The school has two unique advantages, creating an all-English environment so that students can be immersed in the English context all the time. On the one hand, the school leverages its own advantages as an English-medium school. In addition to Chinese, Mandarin and Chinese history, life value education is taught in Cantonese or English, depending on the students' native language. All other subjects are taught in English. Since students come from different places, they have long been accustomed to learning different subjects in English. Expressing personal opinions in class, interacting with teachers, and even discussing and sharing with classmates are all inseparable from communication in English. The school has also invested heavily in resources, especially hiring more than 10 foreign teachers to deepen the English environment on campus.

On the other hand, the school enrolls non-Chinese speaking students, and most interactions between classmates are in English. Every day, students are accustomed to communicating in English from the moment they step onto campus. Morning meetings are also hosted in English by classmates. Even buying snacks from the canteen during lunch and recess are conducted in English. In an all-English environment where students are integrated with campus life, their English skills can be subtly improved and improved.

Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy pointed out: "The students have always had very high English listening skills. Some students who entered our school from a Chinese primary school said that their English conversation skills were a little weak when they first entered the school. However, because there are students from different nationalities in the school, they have become accustomed to socializing and talking with classmates on a daily basis, and their language skills have been improved." Not only that, there are TVs on each floor of the campus, and English news channels will be played during recess and lunch to establish an international English context, allowing students to understand local and international current affairs and keep up with world developments.

English school-based courses to develop self-confidence and achieve future success

The school is committed to allowing every student to shine, so the school-based English course also provides students with space to show their talents. The English course has specially designed school-based teaching materials for students with different learning levels. It includes language arts classes and English performing arts classes. Learning English through art allows students to explore the subtlety, beauty and interest of English in listening, speaking, reading and writing. It also prepares students who want to study English literature.

The performing arts class in the English curriculum arranges for students to learn drama. The school also has a black box theater "Black Box" for students to perform on special days. It also organizes inter-class competitions and participates in the Hong Kong School Drama Festival competition, giving students ample opportunities to express themselves and build confidence through performances. Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy pointed out that drama education can allow students to develop self-confidence while learning English, so that they dare to express their ideas in public and actively explore and show their talent and potential.

Open the "Window to the World" and broaden your international horizons

The international campus not only provides students with a good English context, but also opens a "window to the world" for students. Students on campus have different nationalities, allowing students to understand different cultures from all over the world, explore the wider world, and build an international perspective. In addition, many students choose to study abroad every year. Earlier, at the age of 14, some students were admitted to the four-year master's degree program in mathematics at the University of Oxford in the UK for 2023/2024. Over the years, the English context has enabled students to quickly integrate into the international community and prepare themselves for students who plan to study abroad in the future.

Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy also said: "Some students studying abroad in the UK, Canada, Australia and other places are mistaken for English as their native language because they are fluent in English. Parents also praise the school. The English context helps their children to smoothly integrate into the life of local schools." Some students who are amateur athletes said that the English knowledge accumulated in the school helps them communicate smoothly with local staff and referees when they go overseas to participate in international sports competitions, and make friends with different nationalities.

In addition, the school organizes seven to eight exchange groups every year, traveling to various parts of the world to take a look at the development of different countries in various fields such as STEAM, sports, Mandarin and foreign languages. It also arranges for students to attend classes in the morning, visit in the afternoon, and share their experiences after returning to school. Through exchanges and visits, students can experience the cultural atmosphere of different places while exploring, and at the same time, by sharing personal gains, they can get to know themselves better.

All-English learning activities to build learning advantages

In order to help students better connect with the curriculum, establish learning advantages, and enhance personal competitiveness, the school arranges all-English learning activities for students, such as "interactive activities" in Secondary 1 and 2. Through various activities and learning the International Phonetic Alphabet, students can strengthen and master the learning of English. Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy pointed out: "Some students, especially those newly arrived in Hong Kong, do not know much about the International Phonetic Alphabet. Therefore, teaching them to understand the International Phonetic Alphabet will help them spell words and accumulate more English vocabulary."

The school also holds "L.E.A.D.E.R.S. in Action Camp" every September to cultivate students' leadership skills and build friendly relationships. In addition, the school specially arranged for Form 2 students to go to Guangzhou Huangpu Military Academy to experience military school life for five days and four nights. Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy shared: "Sometimes local tutors may not be able to communicate with foreign students, and local students are tasked with translating." In a context where English and Mandarin coexist, Yingpu's communication skills can be trained, self-confidence can be improved, and mutual friendship can be promoted.

Promote bridging courses and support all English teaching

After entering school, students need to adapt to the coursework of English middle schools. They must first understand the basic use of English in different subjects. Therefore, the school arranges English bridging courses for Form One students to teach English vocabulary in different subjects, such as science, information technology, mathematics, etc. Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy said: "Some students may not have been exposed to the English vocabulary of related subjects when they were in primary school. We use bridging courses to familiarize students with them early, hoping that they can integrate into campus life as soon as possible." In addition, the school also specially sets up two groups of Form 1 for freshmen entering secondary schools. All students will be merged when they enter Form 2 to take care of students' learning differences in English proficiency.

"Top the best to make up for the bottom" strategy: Excellent results in the public examination

The school provides students with appropriate support and guidance according to their different English proficiency levels in order to achieve the effect of "the top students make up for the bottom". The school divides the three classes into four groups according to the students' abilities, promotes a small-class teaching model, and takes care of the students' different learning needs. For students who are more capable and need to be "top-notch", the school will encourage them to participate in competitions such as recitation and debate, and provide them with relevant training outside of class. For students who need to "make up for their mistakes", the school will provide group tutoring classes to assist students with lower abilities so that they can study with confidence in different subjects. Principal Lee Lan Yuen Nancy pointed out: "Nearly 60% of the school's students obtained Level 5 or above in the English subject of the Hong Kong Diploma Examination last year. Students have confidence in themselves and their chances of entering university will be greatly improved."

Grasp the pace of development of the times and create future innovation and technology talents

Innovation and technology are a major trend in world development. The school keeps pace with the times and actively promotes STEAM education so that students can connect with the world and become international professionals. The school conducts STEAM teaching in English. Starting from the first grade of secondary school, students have laid a foundation through programming, science and other courses, preparing for the extension of learning in secondary school. It also helps students connect to different professional courses at university. To this end, the school has set up a STEAM LAB classroom, purchased a large amount of high-end technology, and provided students with a diverse learning experience starting from school-based curriculum and teaching facilities. Students have also made outstanding achievements in STEAM, such as winning the Cai Zhangge Cup silver, bronze and judging awards in the 2023 Asian Robotics Federation Hong Kong Challenge.